1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cylinder mounting structure in a motorcar running by a gas fuel such as natural gas.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 16 shows a prior art disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 7-186741 (1995). In this prior art, in a rear part of a car-body 02 of a motorcar 01 and within a trunk room in rear of a rear seat back 03 are mounted two fuel cylinders 06, 07 supported by a cylinder supporting frame 05. The cylinder supporting frame 05 is fixed to a car-body frame 08 through a rear floor 06.
The cylinder supporting frame 05 is constituted as a large-sized one body for it supports two fuel cylinders 06, 07. The cylinders 06, 07 is positioned up and down along a rear surface of the rear seat back 03.
Fuel pipes extending from the fuel cylinders 06, 07 will concentrate in the space formed under the upper fuel cylinder 06 and behind the lower fuel cylinder 07.
FIG. 17 shows another conventional supporting structure in case of mounting single fuel cylinder. The cylinder supporting frame 010 is formed beforehand as a rectangular framework of one body by right and left side members 011, 011 elongated in front and rear direction and front and rear cross members 012, 012 elongated in right and left direction and bridging over the right and left side members 011, 011.
The fuel cylinder 015 is pinched between the front and rear cross members 012, 012 and tightened by two fixing belts 013, 013 to be fixed.
A not shown fuel pipe extends from a cylinder cap 016 at an end of the fuel cylinder 015 directly below penetrating the floor.
Nowadays, a motorcar using natural gas as its fuel is manufactured by reconstructing a car for mass production using gasoline or the like as its fuel. Therefore, it is required that the reconstruction of the car-body is minimized and assembling is simple.
However, in the prior art shown in FIG. 16 having two fuel cylinders 06, 07 mounted, the cylinder supporting frame 05 for supporting the fuel cylinders 06, 07 is a large-sized one body. Therefore, for installing the fuel cylinders 06, 07, the cylinder supporting frame 05 is fixed to the car-body side beforehand, and then the fuel cylinders 06, 07 are brought into the car through the opening with the rear window removed to be supported by the cylinder supporting frame 05. Such a installing work is troublesome.
Since the cylinder supporting frame 05 is large-sized, installing of the frame 05 itself is not easy, and if the cylinder supporting frame 05 also must be brought into the car through the opening for the rear window because of a shape of a rear floor or the like of a customary car, there occurs many problems such that the opening of the rear window must be enlarged.
Moreover, even after mounting the fuel cylinder, arrangement of fuel pipes must be carried out utilizing a narrow space within the car-body that is not easy.
In the other prior art shown in FIG. 17 having single fuel cylinder 015 mounted, since the cylinder supporting frame 010 is formed beforehand as a rectangular framework of one body by bridging the front and rear cross members 012, 012 over the right and left side members 011, 011, the maximum width of the cylinder supporting frame is large, and it is difficult to bring an assembly of the cylinder supporting frame 010 and the fuel cylinder 015 into the car because of size of opening on the car-body side or the like, therefore, the frame 010 and the cylinder 015 must be installed separately so that the work is troublesome or reconstruction of the car-body is necessitated to cause a higher cost. Similarly to the former prior art, fuel pipe arranging work is troublesome.